never watch the stars
by flowerslut
Summary: post chapter 665. based on a dream. two parts, sasusaku and naruhina. rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

She never imagined she'd be the last one standing, fighting on a battlefield that was making the gruesome transition into a graveyard. She was never the fastest, or smartest, and she may have her strength but what good does that do when you have no chakra left?

As she hurdles over another body, Sakura realizes that if things keep going the way they are now, everyone will die. There won't be anyone left to oppose Madara if Naruto doesn't wake up soon, and if Obito decides to change his mind again, she may as well surrender.

But Naruto's heartbeat is steadily increasing, Minato's kyuubi chakra is finally sealed within him, and Obito is keeping Madara occupied while Kakashi finishes off what's left of black zetsu.

Biting her tongue she pushes her legs as fast as they'll carry her, dodging flying rocks and rubble that shoot her way.

Trying to keep her mind focused, she can't help but repeat Madara's chilling words in her head.

_"It would be wise of you to think twice about this, Obito," _he'd threatened the man, whose hand was still firmly stuck inside his ancestor's chest. _"I didn't want to become the last Uchiha this way, but if you make me eliminate you as well, it is your own fault…"_

Skidding past a large, stone slab — most likely left over from an Iwa nin's jutsu — she steadied her feet and continued to sprint forward.

"_S-Sasuke - kun?_"

She'd frozen at his words, almost ceasing CPR on Naruto, although thankfully Gaara was there to yell at her, and snap her out of her haze. She'd resumed manually pumping his heart, but before she knew it, tears were prickling at her eyes.

"_Focus, Sakura!" _The Kazekage had yelled toward her.

"_But I — is Sasuke alright?_"

"_We don't know," _Kakashi had shouted, chiming in beside Gaara, "_but we can't think about that now_."

Unfortunately, her sudden turmoil hadn't gone unnoticed by a certain Uchiha.

"_Hm? You wouldn't be referring to the young Uchiha now, would you?_"

The moment she saw his attention directed toward her, she almost flinched back from the curious, yet menacing look in his eye. Almost. Yet as she watched the evil mischief swim throughout his gaze she wanted to hit herself.

She was always so bad at hiding her emotions.

"_Sasuke has appeared to have chosen a different path than I have," _he spoke, still addressing Sakura, seeming to ignore the others, even if only for a moment, "_because of this I had to kill him." _He'd shot her a disgustingly unsympathetic look. "_My apologies. I did make it quick though. My promise."_

Thankfully, Kakashi had been by her side in an instant, blocking Madara from her view and leaning down to grab her face in between his hands. For almost a full minute he talked to her non-stop, reminding her to focus on Naruto, telling her that Madara could be lying, urging her not to be swayed by his words so easily.

She tried hard to keep her tears at bay, and for the most part she succeeded. Yet after many long, arduous minutes, the nine-tails chakra was once more sealed within Naruto, with help from not only Minato, but surprisingly enough from Obito as well.

It was the moment she sealed up his chest when the tears began to fall.

Out of nowhere Gaara was before her with Naruto already placed securely on his sand. Reaching out a hand he beckoned for Sakura to come with them in order to make it back to the rest of the alliance.

"We need to find a medic who has some chakra left," he shouted, his hand outstretched.

"I can't," she called over the noise of the battle around her, "I have to find Sasuke-kun!"

She didn't know if it was the tears in her eyes or the desperation in her voice that made him actually leave her behind, but whatever it was, she was thankful.

And now as she ran amidst the chaos surrounding them, she fought hard against her exhaustion. Her chest burned and her muscles ached and she was almost in awe of how her body hadn't given out on her yet. Her chakra was depleted and she idly wondered how long it would take for her body to shut down against her will.

_He has to be okay, he has to be okay, he has to be alright_.

But the farther she ran the more worried she grew. If he were alright, wouldn't he have been fighting Madara with everyone? If he were alright wouldn't she be able to sense his presence even just a _little_ bit?

When she finally spots him, she skids to a stop clumsily, not believing her eyes. And through the dust and smoke, as she identifies the person hunched over his still body, she almost explodes.

"Get AWAY from him!"

Her voice screeches loud above the blasts around her as she launches herself toward him. Kabuto was a sick, evil man, and she'd be _damned_ if she sat by as he did something to Sasuke.

Sasuke… who was lying, completely still on the dirty ground beneath her feet. Sasuke… who was drenched in blood that stained his clothes and face. Sasuke… who was completely vulnerable and unguarded.

Letting out another shout just as she's within reach of Kabuto, she's suddenly yanked back roughly. The force of it is enough to render her completely lightheaded and dazed; her head had been jerked back so hard for a moment she realizes that if she'd been pulled any harder, her neck would've snapped.

Still seething with fury, she reels on whoever has a grip on her, ready to punch them into oblivious. But when they easily catch her fist and refuse to release their hold on her, she screams out of frustration.

"Let _go_ of me!" She cries, struggling to get out of her captor's grip. Looking over her shoulder she works hard to keep her fear under control; the man holding her still is a giant with his red hair sitting atop his head, a slight frown on his face.

"I cannot do that," he says to her calmly.

"Like hell you can't! Get off me!" She struggles more, harder than before, even trying to land some kicks on him. But he's holding her too tightly, she can't even move her legs enough to swing them forward or backward any degree.

She's about to let out another shout when Orochimaru suddenly appears, stepping into her line of sight and getting directly between her and Sasuke.

Not expecting to see him, she chokes on her shout, the sound coming out as a muffled cry. Biting her tongue she refuses to let her tears resurface, but she's helpless right now.

"Get away from him! Now!" She brings herself to shout, trying hard to ignore the angry tears flowing down her cheeks. "Don't you dare hurt him or I'll… or I'll kill you!"

"No harm will come to him," the eerily calm voice speaks from behind her, "Sasuke will be healed and he will remain safe."

"I don't believe you," she struggles more, trying hard to maintain her anger. If her fury dissipates then all she is left with is her grief and worry. And she refuses to look weak now of all times in her life. "Let go of me! Get away! I need to help him!"

"You'd be wise to listen to Jugo," Orochimaru hisses quietly, shooting her a sideways look before fixing his sights back on Kabuto, "Sasuke-kun is being healed as we speak."

"Liar!" She screeches, tears falling to the dirt below her, "you're just trying to steal his body!"

"Trust me," another voice chimes in from behind her. She gets a quick look at him when she takes a moment to look over her shoulder, only to see a white-haired man with his arms crossed. "Jugo won't let him."

It's there, in the moment she looks at this strange, sharp-toothed man, when Sakura spots her.

"You," she chokes out, "it's you."

The red-headed girl she'd encountered months before is sitting on the ground beside the man, her hands gripping her hair as she rocks back and forth. Sakura can see the tears slowly streaming down her face as she watches with wide eyes as Kabuto hunches over Sasuke.

The red-head's eyes shift for a moment, only long enough for her to recognize Sakura. "You're the medic that healed me," she says, her voice trembling.

"Yes," Sakura breathes, "Now please," she turns back toward Orochimaru, "let me heal him."

"I know you're a competent medical ninja, Sakura," Kabuto's voice is as eerie and calm as ever, "but I have things under control. Besides," he shoots her a quick look over her shoulder, and there she sees his face bare of his glasses, "you're probably low on chakra anyways."

"Please, just," she hiccups slightly, her emotions getting the best of her, "just don't hurt him. Please I'm begging you. I'll do anything."

"There's no need to make such promises, Sakura," Kabuto says, his voice still calm as he stands up, letting the chakra in his hands dissipate. "Besides, I've done all I can. Now we'll just have to wait."

Before Kabuto turns to walk away, he shoots her an indecipherable look. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another friend of yours to heal."

For a moment she wants to grab him and shake him, and she wants to demand to know what his motives are. But when he walks away all she can think about is how she needs to check on Sasuke, and how she needs to _know_ that he's okay.

"Please," she begs, her voice much quieter than before, "please let me go."

Jugo seems to hesitate but Sakura can see Orochimaru nod out of the corner of her eye. "It appears that even after all these years," the Sannin begins, "you are still as fond of him as ever." He speaks as if he's amused by the thought, and all Sakura wants to do is spit at him and yell at him to leave.

But that thought is abruptly ended as she's let go suddenly. Not fully prepared, she falls to her knees, catching herself on her hands. As soon as she hits the ground she's scrambling forward, not caring if she looks pathetic as she crawls desperately across the ground.

The moment her fingertips brush across his skin, she recoils, gasping in shock. His skin was so cold. Too cold for a living body.

Lifting her hand to his neck and lowering her head to his chest simultaneously she waits for a sign that he is, in fact, alive.

It takes a few seconds to find a pulse, and when she does, it's incredibly weak. But for a moment she doesn't care because a heartbeat is a heartbeat and that means he's alive.

She doesn't know when she starts to sob, but before she can contain herself, she's gripping his shirt tightly, crying hysterically. She can't keep her eyes off the hole in his shirt that used to be where the hole in his chest resided. His heart was definitely struck, that was for sure.

"You idiot," she cries, gripping his shirt tightly, "you fucking idiot. You're not allowed to die. Neither of you are," she sniffs loudly, burying her face into his bloodied shirt.

She has the blood of both of her teammates on her hands but their hearts were beating and she couldn't care less.

"You morons better not leave me alone," she sobs, "you're stronger than that. You can't — " she hiccups, "you can't leave me alone again."

Before she can finish her sentence, she feels something light brush against her cheek. Turning her head she almost gasps as she watches Sasuke place his hand on the back of her head, gently holding her to him.

Looking up at his face she takes note of how his eyes are still closed, but the rise and fall of his chest is steadily growing deeper and his heartbeat is readily increasing.

At the intimate gesture, a new round of tears envelops her as she wraps her arms around him tightly.

"Sasuke-kun," she cries, "please be more careful. You can't leave me like that you… you idiot! Don't go dying, please! Just — "

"Sa… kura…"

She gasps, lifting her head and glancing up at his face. His eyes are just beginning to open as he blinks to adjust them to his surroundings.

Then, he says her name again.

"Sakura," he pulls her head back against his chest, holding her to him tightly. He's delirious, she knows this, but it doesn't make the impact of his words any less intense. "I won't — " his words are cut off my a violent series of coughing, but he forces them out anyways, "I won't leave again."

And she swears at that moment, she thinks she's the one whose heart has finally stopped.

"If you do," she cries, still clinging to him desperately, "I'll kill you myself."

She can almost hear the smirk in his voice as he replies. "I'll hold you to it."


	2. Chapter 2

Yellow chakra flickering off of his skin, igniting the air around him, Naruto knew that he was going to win. With his adrenaline blinding every doubt in his mind, he quickly side-stepped another one of Madara's attacks, turning on his heel and swinging his leg, effectively landing a solid kick on Madara's back.

If he could've, he would've grinned, maybe even let out an exhilarated laugh, but he didn't even have the energy to crack a smile. He was running on sheer willpower at that point; his body had been exhausted far beyond his breaking point, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't even give Madara the time to steady his balance before he was on him again, throwing punches and kicks, generating a couple of rasengan here and there.

As long as he kept Madara busy, it would give Kakashi and his father enough time to think of a plan; and they desperately needed one at this point. Naruto knew that if he didn't land a fatal blow soon, all of his attacks would have been for naught.

Dodging a blast, Naruto threw himself to the ground, rolling out of the way. He had a new rasengan already charged-up and in his hand by the time he was on his feet again. As he ran towards Madara he threw his arm forward, letting out a frustrated shout.

The moment he extended his arm fully, his rasengan met another one of his blasts head-on.

The explosion shook the ground, sending Naruto flying only to land roughly on the hard ground before skidding to a stop.

Coughing up dirt and dust while struggling to see through the smoke, Naruto shook his head to dislodge the debris that had blinded his vision. Before he could stand up on his feet, he barely noted when a person flashed across his eyes, stepping in front of them before taking a defensive stance.

"Naruto-kun! Are you hurt?"

At the sound of her voice he panicked, images of Pein flashing through his mind; her blood stained into the back of his memory stubbornly.

"Hinata," he forced the words out, coughing to clear his windpipe, "you need to get out of here. Now." His words were rushed, desperate even as he staggered forward into the smoke, reaching out for her blindly. As he grabbed a hold of her vest, his hand quickly found her arm. "You need to go — "

"I'm not going anywhere." She spoke, her voice stern as she shook her arm out of his grasp to resume her position.

"Hinata, please I'm begging you," grabbing hold of her hand, he held it tightly, his voice imploring her to look at him, "you're not safe here."

"Neither are you."

Before he could reply he could feel the air turn hot around them, the sound of static growing louder.

Just before the blast destroyed the ground they stood on, he'd grabbed her tightly around the waist and jumped out of the way, sending them both tumbling across the ground.

To his surprise, he found her back up and on her feet before him, her stance already set up again. "Do what you need to do, Naruto-kun," she stated, her voice much softer this time, "but I'm staying."

He didn't have time to come up with another angry retort or desperate plea. Madara had flashed in front of Hinata in an instant, causing Naruto's panic to momentarily take over as he rushed towards her.

He watched in horror as Madara moved his arm to strike her in the chest with blinding speed — Naruto knew that there would be no way for her to get out of the way in time. But to his shock he watched as she hit his forearm with enough strength to move his arm to the side only _barely._

Helplessly, Naruto watched as Madara's arm cleanly pierced through her left shoulder, his pale hand drenched in her blood as it exited her body.

He couldn't help the scream that erupted from him as he charged.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," as Madara spoke, his deep voice shaking Naruto down to the core, he gripped Hinata's neck tightly with his opposite hand, placing her directly in between himself and Naruto, "that is, unless, you want her to die."

Letting his rasenshuriken dissipate he watched angrily as Madara used her as a human shield. "Let her go!" He barked angrily, his fury battling against his fear inside of him. Hinata couldn't die, she just _couldn't._

He'd been helpless to protect her once before, and he absolutely refused to sit by and watch her get hurt again. He was going to save her, and that was that.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata's voice held surprising strength as she called out to him, forcing the words through her already-restricted windpipe, "you need to attack, now."

"Hinata, I — I can't alright, I just _can't_!" He shouted toward her in frustration. Just why did she have to show up? What was she trying to accomplish other than get herself killed for his sake!? Why the _fuck_ couldn't he ever protect her?!

He could only watch with confusion and concern as she raised her right arm ahead of her and — with one of Madara's hands around her neck and another still planted firmly through her shoulder — sharply began striking his arms at different points.

"Naruto, now!" Her voice was strained, the air forcing itself out of her lungs to form the words.

That's when he noticed her intentions.

As her palms began striking Madara's arm, her hits slowly rising up toward his shoulder, he released her neck and yanked his other arm out of her chest in one fell swoop, throwing her backwards roughly before she could hit his chakra points any farther up his arm.

Running forward Naruto caught her body, the impact causing him to stumble backwards slightly.

"Naruto, now!" She coughed the words out in a hoarse voice, one hand placed over her wound, which was now fiercely gushing blood.

Placing her down gently behind him Naruto turned toward Madara and charged him, shouting angrily as he charged up his rasenshuriken. As he approached the man, he realized that Hinata really _had_ done some damage; the old Uchiha's right arm was handing by his side, seemingly useless.

Only feet away from his target, he watched Madara lift up an arm and fire a blast directly toward him.

The last thing he registered before unconsciousness claimed him was the searing pain across his skin, and Hinata's piercing scream from behind him.

* * *

><p>"Fill me in."<p>

"Things were bad—really bad. Naruto got the kyuubi extracted and almost died. He's fine now; we got it back."

"We?"

"Not 'we' exactly. Obito."

"Why would he do that?!"

"He's on our side now. I think? I don't know exactly but — "

The sound of a loud explosion shook the ground, causing Sakura to stumble slightly, falling to the ground and landing on her knees. She was so exhausted. She had almost completely depleted her chakra reserves but she couldn't stop now; they were so close. They could see the battle in the distance and they would be there any moment now, they just had to keep going.

"Come on," to her surprise, she was hoisted back onto her feet quickly — she idly wondered why Sasuke didn't just leave her behind, after all the main battlefield was just up ahead, he could've just gone on without her. "We've got to hurry."

Pulling her arm slightly, to prompt her to start moving again, Sasuke stared at her with an intense look in his eye. Sakura's first instinct was to flinch back at his scrutinizing gaze, but she couldn't focus on anything else but the current moment.

"What else?" Sasuke asked loudly, waiting for her to fall back back in step with him before sprinting towards the battle.

"Kakashi is in bad shape and…" she hesitated, forcing her tears back, "and Guy-sensei is dead. I don't know what happened to the Fourth or Gaara, but things aren't looking good."

Another blast shook the ground.

"And that's Naruto, right?" Sasuke asked, referring to the tremors in the ground.

Sakura turned her head toward their destination and nodded. Before she could verbally confirm his assumption she felt her blood run cold.

Suddenly, Naruto's voice echoed through the night, ringing loud and clear above all other noise.

Sakura could just barely make out Hinata's small, lithe figure, dangling in the air with Madara's hand piercing her chest.

"No," she whispered, eyes wide. "Oh no, no…"

"Is that the Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked. Sakura couldn't see his face but she was imagining his eyes lit bright red, staring intently ahead of them.

"I — oh god. Yeah." Blinking back more tears Sakura struggled to move her legs faster. They needed to get there now.

As they ran Sakura clasped her hands together; if she could even garner up a _little_ chakra before they got there, then maybe she'd be able to help save Hinata.

Closing in on the fight, Sakura ignored the tightness in her chest and the painful burning in her muscles as she zeroed-in on Hinata's location.

Naruto was just setting her down when he turned and charged Madara, preparing to land another attack. It was just seconds before his rasenshuriken struck the man when she felt her body get jerked back roughly.

Suddenly, a blast so intense that it caused Sakura's ears to sting with pain shook the area, the aftershock throwing her off her feet and into Sasuke's chest. His grip on her tightened more when the force threw them both backward roughly.

With his arms holding her tightly to him, Sakura found herself utterly disoriented as they tumbled and slid across the rocky ground. She could feel her clothes tear and her skin rip slightly each time they bounced against the hard ground. Tucking her chin to her neck she clenched her teeth together and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for it to stop.

When they slammed hard against a large sheet of rock, Sakura felt all the wind get forced out of her lungs upon impact. As their bodies came to a halt Sasuke immediately released his hold on her, his hands clutching tightly at his chest, a look of intense pain on his face.

"Sa…suke…" she gasped as she forced her shaky arms to lift her up off the ground. When she finally met his eyes she felt her breath once more fly out of her body as he threw himself toward her again, pinning her to the ground and using his own body as a shield.

She wasn't able to say another word when she felt another large force slam into them, the sound reverberating through her aching ears.

Coughing up more smoke, Sakura tried hard to refill her lungs with oxygen, struggling to steady her breathing. But when she finally opened her eyes, and when her lungs finally began to cooperate, she could only manage a gasp as she turned herself around in Sasuke's grip and stared at him.

A large stone slab had been knocked off the rock they had slammed into and had fallen down atop of them, only to successfully pin Sasuke to the ground.

"Sasuke," she cried, "what did… why did —?"

"Shut up," he bit through clenched teeth, "just shut up."

As she took note of his left leg, bloodied and only half-visible from under the rock, Sakura gasped, her hand shooting up to her mouth. There was just something about seeing Sasuke injured that set her on edge and caused her panic to shoot through the roof.

"Help me," he gasped, "get this thing off of me."

She'd began to shake her head before he'd even finished speaking. "Sasuke, I can't. I don't have enough chakra to fix your leg right now."

"I didn't say to heal me," he snapped, still out of breath, "just to get it off of me."

"I heard you, but if I move it and _don't_ heal you, you'll lose your leg," she shouted back at him, frustrated at his stubbornness, "or worse, you'll bleed out and _die_!"

"Sakura — "

"Damnit Sasuke! For once just don't pretend to be invincible!" She cried, her fist slamming against the ground as she crouched beside him.

At the sound of another blast, her head shot toward where she knew Naruto was fighting Madara. When she realized that through the smoke and debris she couldn't see any of them, she began to panic again.

"I have to go," she said hurriedly, pushing herself up and onto her feet, "I have to help them; Hinata and Naruto."

"Sakura, no," before she took a step, Sasuke had grabbed her ankle roughly, effectively holding her into place, "you can't. You'll get yourself killed."

"I didn't hear you complaining about me being here a minute ago," she snapped at him, glaring at his hand that was keeping her hostage.

"Well, a minute ago I wasn't trapped under a damn rock!" He spat back at her, pulling her leg back towards him slightly.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" She shrieked. Now was not the time for this. His stubbornness wasn't going to get just himself killed, but _all _of them if he didn't cut it out. "I'm not weak! I can do this!"

"I never said you weren't — "

"Then why are you acting like I'm this fragile little girl — "

"I don't want to lose you!"

And for a split-second everything stopped. Her head was full of silence and clarity and she could hear her heartbeat as it raced in her chest. Her mind wanted to chastise her for listening to his empty words, but as she stared at his face — his desperate, hopeless, panicked face — her anger immediately dissipated.

"If you go out there," he resumed, still shouting the words at her, "and if you get caught in the crossfire and killed, I just," he paused, letting out a frustrated groan, "I don't know what I'll do! I can't protect you like this, Sakura."

"I… Sasuke-kun…"

"Please," he pleaded, showing her a side of himself she never thought she'd see; a side she was sure didn't even exist anymore, "please just stay."

With her mind fuzzy Sakura let her instincts take over. Falling ungracefully to her knees she reached out toward him, grabbing his face between her hands and pressing her lips against him.

The moment she initiated the kiss, his hand released her leg and wrapped around her waist, deepening the kiss and pulling her close.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, it was over and Sakura had jumped back, ripping herself out of his grip. Staring back at his face she tried to force the guilt down as she looked at his shocked, betrayed expression.

"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun."

As she turned and ran, she couldn't block out the sound of his desperate and angry voice shouting out toward her. Even if he never forgave her, even if she died, she figured that as long as he knew that she still loved him, maybe it would all be okay in the end.


End file.
